Chopper crash: Know about the helicopter that was carrying CDS Gen Rawat

The Mi17V5 helicopter which crashed with Chief of Defence Staff CDS Bipin Rawat and 13 other people onboard on Wednesday is an advanced military transport chopper that has been with the Indian Air Force IAF since 2012Manufactured by Russian Helicopters subsidiary Kazan the helicopter has an on board weather radar and is equipped with the latest generation of night vision devicesHowever IAFs Mi17V5 chopper has been involved in quite a few incidents during the last decadeOne of these choppers with the IAF crashlanded in eastern Arunachal Pradesh on November 8 However the two pilots and three crew members suffered just minor injuriesSix people on board IAFs Mi17V5 helicopter escaped unhurt on April 3 2018 after it crashed near the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath in UttarakhandOn October 7 2017 a Mi17V5 helicopter crashed near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh while it was heading for the China border killing all seven armed forces personnel onboardOn June 15 2013 one of these helicopters crashed while returning from Kedarnath on a rescue mission during the Uttarakhand floods A total of eight people including five crew members were killed in this accidentNine IAF personnel were killed around 10 km from Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat on August 30 2012 when two of these choppers crashed into each otherTwelve defence personnel were killed on November 19 2010 when a Mi17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed near Tawang in Arunachal PradeshThis helicopter has the new PKV8 autopilot system and a KNEI8 avionics suite It can carry a maximum take off weight of 13000 kg and maximum payload weight of 4000 kgIndia had in 2008 signed a deal with Russia to induct 80 Mi17V5 medium lift helicopters for strengthening its chopper fleet for humanitarian and disaster relief missions and transport operationsThe contract was later expanded for delivery of 151 Mi17V5 helicoptersThe first batch of these helicopters came to India in September 2011In February 2012 the IAF had formally inducted Mi17V5 helicopters from Russia to enhance its operational capabilities including carrying troops and cargo to high altitude areasThe helicopter is fitted with a selfdefence system against heat seeker missiles heavilyarmoured cockpit vital systems and componentsThe Mi17V5 military transport helicopter is designed to carry personnel cargo and equipment inside the cargo cabin or on an external sling drop tactical air assault forces and reconnaissance and sabotage groups destroy ground targets and carry the wounded said Russian governments defence exports company RosoboronexportAccording to the company this helicopter can achieve a maximum speed of 250 km per hourThe helicopter is fitted with advanced TV3117VM enginesIt is the most technically advanced helicopter of Mi817 family of helicopters and incorporates the best engineering solutions from previous generations of helicoptersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever